Lead Climbing

Climbing at the gym where there are dozens upon dozens of top rope routes and boulder problems gives me no real urgency in learning to lead. However, climbing outside does. For this reason, I took the Learn to Lead class at Vertical Endeavors in the fall of 2015. There are several options in the Chicagoland area for lead classes, including but not limited to:

• Vertical Endeavors - Sport Lead ($45 non-members/$30 members)This class is offered on Mondays from 7-10 pm. Call the gym to register. You must be able to climb at least a 5.9 and be belay certified before taking the class. Bring your own belay device. We used our ATC.
• Pros: Large (free) parking lot, inexpensive, shortest amount of time
• Cons: Located in the suburbs (car required), late on a school night
• Brooklyn Boulders - Learn to Lead ($149)This is a set of two classes, 3 hours per class. You must be able to climb at least a 5.9 and be belay certified before taking the class. I have never taken the course myself, but I believe you do not have to bring your own belay device. BKB uses Grigri 2s on their ropes. Once you are lead certified, you can check out a rope for free but must use your own belay device.
• Pros: In the city, accessible by CTA
• Cons: Expensive, no parking lot (pay to park or limited free street parking), time commitment, tends to be crowded
• First Ascent (Avondale) - Learn to Lead ($120 non-members/$85 members)Classes either meet for two three-hour sessions on weekdays or one intensive four-hour session (with a half hour break) on weekends. You must be able to climb at least a 5.9 and be belay certified before taking the class. I have never taken the course myself, but based on the price alone, I would venture to say it is a better value than BKB.
• Pros: Accessible by CTA, large (free) parking lot,
• Cons: Expensive, time commitment

Gear

REI has plenty of gear, but I am partial to Moosejaw with it's quirky sales ads and frequent promotions. Also, BKB members get 15% off certain items, so remember to tell the associate before paying for your purchase. 

Rope

It is important to note that most, if not all, stores will not let you return a rope after purchase. This is for safety reasons. So, be sure that you know what type you want: static v. dynamic; single v. half v. twin; non-dry v. dry core... The list goes on. REI does a great job at explaining your options here. 

Quickdraws

Most gyms already have quickdraws on their lead routes. However, if you're leading outside, you will want to have your own set. We played around with a few at Moosejaw and were instantly drawn to the smoothness of the Petzl Spirit Express.

You just want to squeeze it!

We watched lots of YouTube videos comparing solid gate versus wire gate biners. The decision came down to how it felt. I would recommend touching and handling any sort of climbing gear, especially carabiners on quickdraws, before making a purchase.

Apparel

Is your climbing shirt full of holes or pit stains? Get a new one. Check out the link below for the shirt I designed. 

https://teespring.com/climbingbuddies

For outdoor climbing or hiking in the warmer months, I highly recommend Marmot's PCT pant. They are stretchy, fitted and well constructed. I love the zippered pocket and the button/velcro combination at the waist. 

Marmot PCT Pants - Women's

There is a Men's version. I assume it is just as good, but don't take my word for it!

Shoes

I am still rocking my La Sportiva Katana Laces. If you have any favorites, please comment below! 

Money, Money, Money

The Good News

Virtually every established business in Iceland takes credit cards. This influenced our decision not to immediately exchange our US dollars (USD) for Icelandic Krona (ISK).

Servers and bartenders bring card machines right to you - so there's little wait when paying.

The Bad News

It's easy to overspend while using plastic. It's also easy to forget about exchange rates and the true price of goods and services. However, there is some more good news.

More Good News

Download a currency converter app on your phone and forget about trying to do the math. I downloaded a free app called Easy Currency Converter which worked well. I imagine they are all pretty much the same.

Easy Currency Converter

This Needs to be Said Because...

While at a cafe, we overhead some fellow tourists talking about how much money they had exchanged. The lady said she'd gotten 10,000 ISK and was hoping that would be enough. Her friend said he had gotten 500,000 ISK "to be safe" but wasn't quite sure how much that was. 

Must be funny...

At this point, Mike and I looked at each other with worrisome expressions. Mike politely inserted himself in the conversation by saying, "1,000 krona is about eight US dollars." To which the man incorrectly echoed, "Eighty?" Mike: "EIGHT". Man: "Oh..."

Moral of the story: Google stuff before you ask for a half mil in some other country. Or just spend that half mil on a couple Icelandic sweaters and some Blue Lagoon lotion (that is about the going rate for those items). 

Sunlight in Reykjavik

According to the internet, Reykjavik is the northernmost capital city of an independent nation. And with great northernness comes great days or nights (depending on the season). Take a look at how crazy long the days were:

Daylight 20+ hours a day...

I can't say that I ever saw it get dark, even past midnight. The only comparison I can make is that point at which the park district starts the Movie in the Park before they really should because it's getting late and no one can stay in the park past 11 pm... that sort of "dark".

The cool part was not having to drive in pitch black conditions. The not-so-cool part was that is was extremely difficult for the mind and body to feel ready for sleep. And, once you are in bed, if you don't have blackout curtains in the room... forget about it. 

Almost every AirBnB claimed having blackout curtains. Most of them were not wide enough to cover every angle of light that could possibly laser into the room. If you're going to Iceland during summer, do yourself the favor of buying a sleep mask or blindfold. 

Amazon folks seem to like ALASKA BEAR blindfolds...

I did not have the foresight in buying these. One night, the brightness was so much so that I tried being resourceful by covering my eyes with my black bra. It didn't quite work because the bra has a hole in the middle (why does it have a hole in the middle?). Plus, the cups were not sized to my eyeballs. Anyway, just trust me on this purchase. Do it.

While it is quite bright, it can still be a bit chilly in Reykjavik. What was refreshing about the weather was how practical folks were about their dress. Everyone was wearing hiking boots, a puffy jacket and about 2/3 of people had a knapsack. Even when we went out on the town on the weekend, I did not see cleavage whatsoever. The closest I got to seeing that was when I wore that bra on my face.

Alright, so there's perpetual sunlight and everyone looks like they walked out of a Patagonia catalog. Next...

Let's talk about the business hours around this place. 

Open 11 am to 6:30 pm M-Th; 10 am to 7:30 pm Fri; 10 am to 6:30 pm Sat; 12 pm to 6:30 pm Sun
GOT ALL THAT?

Bonus, which deserves its very own post, is Iceland's version of Aldi. It's an odd econobuy type grocery store. Just look at the mascot. I can't get over the unevenness of its eyeballs.

The morning after our first night in Iceland, we decided to go to Bonus to buy some yogurt, fruit and other things for a light breakfast. Little did we know that 8 am was entirely too early for Icelandic grocery stores to be open. Then, we saw the hours. C'mon, man! I know Chicago Public Swimming Pools that have better hours than these. We made sure to stock up on snacks for days once we were able to stroll in 3 hours later.

This pharmacy is open when you're least likely to get/be sick.

Luckily, no one got sick on this trip. However, we did need sunblock after getting a bit sunburnt on the first day of hiking. We tried stopping at several gas stations since none of the Bonuses were open yet. To our (not) surprise, neither was Lyfja. 

We ended up getting some weird Nivea sunblock from a random Bonus a day later. It was terrible. Don't buy it. Just get Banana Boat. Anyway, another tip is to bring your own over the counter stuff in case you come down with a case of the sniffles or runs. There is not much aid you can get late at night.

It is no wonder that Iceland has an amazing literacy rate (99% of the population over 15 years can read - according to the internet). What else are you going to do if you can't run over to the store to get some pizza rolls past 7:31 pm? 

Icelandair and Keflavik International Airport

Some of the selling factors for choosing Iceland were the fact(s) that: a) we could get a direct flight from Chicago; b) it was only about 6 hours each way; and c) it wasn't crazy expensive.

The cherry on top was that Icelandair was a pretty legit airline. Upon boarding, they give you a bottle of Icelandic bottled water (no need to wait 40 minutes for them to come around with a cart), the seats were comfy, they had foot rests (!), a USB port to charge your phone and free in-flight entertainment which included a variety of movies, TV shows and some weird commercials. 

They are so fly.

One thing I didn't expect was that we would be deplaning directly outside and taking a shuttle to the airport. I was kind of wearing flip flops (because it was hot in Chicago) and KEF was pretty chilly and windy when we arrived. Luckily, we weren't outside very long, but it was definitely brisk out there.

Keflavik International Airport itself was decent. Passport control was like a herd of cows. PRO TIP: If there is a crowd of people lined up to hand over their passports to the agents, go all the way down to the right (furthest from the entrance). It was clear the first several windows suffered from a traffic jam. Don't get caught in it.

The first thing we did was wait for our bags. That took a little while and people didn't know how to get out of the way. If I had to do it again, I would go to that market which is right next to baggage claim to get the ever important prepaid SIM card. Go straight to a cashier and ask for one. They will offer you at least two options. I think we went with the one that was around 1999 ISK (approx. $16). It ended up being a perfect amount of data. Don't forget to bring a paperclip with you if you have one of those phones where you need a pin to eject the SIM card slot.

Get the prepaid SIM card from the cashier, yo!

Once we got our bags and phone situation settled, it was time to get the car. We rented from Avis. Do not rent from Avis. I kid you not: we waited at least 45 minutes in a line where there were 4 people in front of us and there were 3 agents. I have no idea how it took that long. One customer - a very elderly fellow - was at the counter the entire time we were there. I was actually concerned that he was going to be on the same road at we were. 

Not so fly.

Avis tried to get us to buy their full insurance package for an extra $50 a day. We booed that. We did spring for the "sand storm and some other lava bullshit" protection (I can't recall the exact name). Turns out there weren't any sand storms, but I guess it's better to have insurance and not need it than to need it and not have it. 

Warning: Inspect the vehicle before getting in. Our guy said the car was in mint condition as he handed us the car inspection sheet. When we circled the car, it had some pretty gnarly gashes on the rear bumper. We took some photos, went back inside and had him initial the areas on the form. Don't want to get dinged for something we didn't do.

Rental car was not fully fueled up!

Warning: They claimed that the car had a full tank of gas. It didn't. We realized this about 5 km after we pulled out. I guess we felt accomplished after having discovered those gashes on the body of the car that we forgot to double-check that it was all gassed up. We snapped a picture of the fuel gauge + mileage and brought it up when returning the car. They hemmed and hawed about not being able to refund us any money because we had already pre-paid, but after some vigorous typing and consulting with his fellow agent, the dude gave us a slight refund. 

GPS is pretty worth it.

Now, if you know anything about Iceland, it's that there's one main road that goes around the entire island (Route 1 or "the Ring Road"). So, how can you possibly get lost in Iceland? It's pretty hard to do unless you're venturing into the wilderness (which we didn't do). We mainly depended on the GPS whenever the road got super winding (especially on the sides of cliffs). Another added feature was that our GPS warned us when there was a speed trap and we were going over the limit. Bring you GPS - or rent one. It was definitely useful.

Anywho... that was about all the fun we had landing into Iceland and getting ready to make our way into the "big" city of Reykjavik. But that is a story for another time.

June in Iceland

Iceland is a pretty hot destination right now. According to the Icelandic Tourist Board report dated April 2015, tourism’s share of foreign exchange earnings on the island has grown from 18.8% to 27.9% between 2010–2014. Mike and I are glad we spent our honeymoon there before Iceland becomes too cool for its own good!

Iceland is so not over (yet)

During our planning stage, we got tons of helpful hints from family (Lauren) and friends (Tiffany and Alex) who had visited Iceland in the recent past. We also used the hell out of Lonely Planet's guidebook. Pretty much every other tourist had a copy with them, too. Highly, highly recommended.

Buy this book - even if you aren't going to Iceland!

We embarked on a 10-day tour around the entire island. At the urging of other bloggers, we booked our lodging ahead of time (a mix of AirBnBs and hotels). It worked rather well. 

Our travels around Iceland

We landed in Keflavik and drove to Reyjavik where we spent the first few nights exploring the city. Then, we made our way around the island counterclockwise (or as some people call it: "anticlockwise"), staying in the following towns:

• Kirkjubaejarklaustur
• Höfn
• Seyðisfjörður
• Laugar
• Akureyri
• Borgarnes
• Reykjavik

We made many, many stops along the way. Stay tuned (not literally) for more updates on each location. We've got lots of pictures and memories to share.

First Ascent vs Brooklyn Boulders Chicago

First Ascent is convenient in many ways: it is right off the Addison highway exit, has a parking lot and sells a good array of merch including shoes, harness and various snacks and drinks. It is well staffed with safety conscious people who know about climbing.

The facilities are top notch. Top rope and lead walls reach about 60 feet and are textured. While this is great for smearing, I noticed that I did quite a bit of scuffing to the toes of my new shoes. Bouldering area upstairs has several top out sections and a very difficult cave.

The rating system is a bit of a conundrum for me. While I feel that 5.8 and 5.9 is more difficult at First Ascent than at Brooklyn Boulders Chicago, once you get into 5.10 - 5.11, First Ascent seems to scale on the soft side. Why is that? Over the weekend, I completed a 5.10 D and got about 4/5ths up a 5.11 C at First Ascent. Normally, I am happy with 5.10 A and 5.10 B.

But... maybe I'm just getting better. Today, at BKB, I completed a 5.10 C. While, I did not finish it cleanly, I felt accomplished that I was able to get through some tough parts after many tries and many falls. It's the only way to get better.

Bouldering at First Ascent kicks my ass. I can barely finish V1-V2, while at BKB, I am generally in the V3-V4 range. Just have to work harder to move up.

All in all, I really enjoy First Ascent. I do not plan on becoming a member, but I will be buying some passes. Having BKB across the street is entirely too convenient to pass up.

Polar M400

My Garmin FR60 running watch all but died a few years ago. The wrist strap broke and the battery had to be replaced about twice a year. While I loved the comfort of the heart rate monitor chest strap, I did not love the buttons on the watch. I had been scouring the market for a new watch and was considering Suunto. However, their watches are humongous. 

After comparing reviews, I thought the Polar M400 seemed like a good fit. I finally bought one tonight. The watch and heart rate monitor cost about $250 after tax. So, I'm hoping this watch performs a lot better than my previous Garmin. It's comfortable and sleek. The face is pretty readable. I have just customized my settings and will be testing it out tomorrow. 

Polar M400

Squeezing in the Ultimate Reset before Thanksgiving

My shipment has finally arrived.

I have done the Reset twice before and was happy with the results. Both times, I refrained from exercise as recommended. I found this difficult to do because by week 2, I had lots of energy that I wanted to expend.

This time, I do not want to take a full 3 weeks off from climbing. So, the plan is to follow the Reset as closely as possible but add some calories to my diet on days when I intend to climb. In order to do so safely, I will be monitoring my heart rate and calories burned during physical activity and appropriately supplementing those calories.

I hope to update with photos and logged data soon. Very excited to start the Reset one more time.

Colorado 2015

Scenic drive in Colorado!

Arizona 2015

Hiking in Arizona!

Brooklyn Boulders

Brooklyn Boulders has become my second home. Since its opening, I've been climbing there 3-4 times a week (one time, I went 5 days in a row - NOT RECOMMENDED!).

Bouldering - Climbing without ropes. The way up to the top is called a "problem" which is about the right term for it. They are graded from V0, V1, V2 and up, the higher the number, the greater the difficulty. BKB has padding completely surrounding the problems, which is nice. Out in the real world, people use crash pads, which are not all that very big and must be placed strategically to break your fall safely.

Fighting a barn door on a V3

Mike trying out his Testarossas for the first time

Top Rope - Climbing with a harness that is attached to a rope that is set at the top of a route. I just realized I don't have any pictures of me top roping at BKB because Mike can't really belay and take photos at the same time.

Friend climbing top rope with Mike belaying

What makes BKB fun is the artwork on the walls and the many events they hold (most are free). Below are a few examples:

Art by Caleb Freese

Mucca Pazza

Breakfast Club

Yoga at BKB

Brooklyn  Boulders hosted a Bare Feet Power Yoga session on Friday. Was a fun time. Looking forward to the Grand Opening.

Airplane pose (left) 

Downward Dog (left)

Ditka Dash

Saturday, September 27, 2014 - Second annual Ditka Dash. It was my first time running it. Super fun. There were 13,000 runners. The race was well organized with different waves (8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.) and with corrals according to pace per mile.

The goodie bag came with two shirts (a white Da Finisher shirt and a navy blue Ditka Dash shirt), aviator shades and a Ditka mustache. There were also a ton of different optional add ons such as sweat bands, Ditka cigars and stickers. I just upgraded my Ditka shirt from cotton to Tech (which was a good move). 

Heading to the Start

Side of Soldier Field

Ditka 'Stache

Friends at the Finish

The only downside to this race was that it was "self timed" which meant you were not tracked and there was no official race clock. I used my Endomondo app to keep my time. So, that worked out.

Endomondo

My time was 27:38 (improved on my time of 28:28 at the Bucktown 5k on September 14). Pretty happy. Not sure I will run anymore the remainder of the year, but my goal is to train harder and get closer to a 26-minute 5k next year.

I would definitely run the Ditka Dash again (unlike the Color Run and Hot Chocolate).

Brooklyn Boulders Chicago

So excited for this climbing gym to open by the end of the month!

Bucktown 5k

Confession: I don't love running. I mainly run 5ks because I like the shirts/hoodies. That was the main impetus for me registering for the Bucktown 5k.

I had not trained for this run. In fact, the last time I ran 5 kilometers was the Ravenswood 5k. That race day was cold, and I did not do as well as I wanted. I had to stop multiple times and just did not have the endurance for it.

30:59

Although I had not done any running since then, I have been doing Insanity. I felt confident that I'd improve on my next run. And I did!

28:28

My goal was to run under 29 minutes. Felt good running today and didn't stop at all. The conditioning from Insanity has definitely strengthened my large leg muscles. What I need to work in is my cardio to pick up the pace. 

My beef: The goodie bag included sweatpants - which look very nice but were HUMONGOUS. 

I ordered a small and discovered just how big they were once I picked up the packet. I drove back to the store to exchange them for an X-Small but was told I had to come back on Wednesday to make the exchange. Was pretty bummed. Seriously, these ran way too big. Check out the size chart.

Bummer. I hope the XS aren't too big. Looking forward to wearing these to keep me warm when winter comes. 

I would definitely run the Bucktown 5k again. It was very well organized with corrals and numbered gear check. Lots of these new runs (like The Color Run) have disappointed with not having gear check at all (and not notifying runners before the race) or having just a general gear check which took forever to find one's bag. The course itself is nice, too. Not as neighborhoody as the Ravenswood 5k, but pretty close. There wasn't much uphill running, which can sometimes kick my butt.

If you've never run this race before, I highly recommend it. 

What I've Been Up To This Summer

Hiking (check out the awesome pics!), climbing, yoga, etc. Come back for more updates.

New Shoes

The first time I did Insanity a few years ago, I got some Nike Free Fit shoes (see post) to keep me from flying when I was doing In n Outs and suicide jumps.

I'm doing Insanity again. And, I actually still have those shoes, but it was time for new ones. I got a similar pair. 

Nike Free 5.0

Today was my very first workout in them. Honestly, my feet were aching within 10 minutes. They are pretty flat and not extremely supportive (which is why they're called Free). But I feel like the original ones I bought were a little more flexible. These are going to take a bit of getting used to. But, I don't hate them (except for the color). Why couldn't they be yellow or something?

I give them a 6 out of 10 for now. 

The 3-day Refresh

Soon!

My Last Entry Was Exactly One Year and One Day Ago

What have you missed? Well... a lot. 

Early 2013, I hurt both knees trying to carry some buckets that were way too heavy for me. Walking was uncomfortable. Going down steps was unbearable. A specialist diagnosed me with chondromalacia patellae. Basically, it's the wearing of the cartilage under my knee caps. I was out of commission for a while. 

I Googled some images to post on here for a visual, but they are kind of gross. Let's just say that this wasn't the best news of the year. 

But that was just a minor setback in the world of trying to figure out how to stay (or get back) in shape without breaking. 

Thus, I came to the realization that the world doesn't need a millionth blogger blogging about her workouts and shakes. What makes me different from the next P90X enthusiast who is jazzed up about accepting Tony Horton in your life? Nothing, really.

Except, now I have something to share. But first, a brief history.

At my athletic peak, I looked like this:

I had overcome asthma and learned how to manage my food allergies to avoid breathing problems. This allowed me to develop into an avid runner. Plus, I worked out. A LOT. I ate well. I drank not so well. Overall, I'd never felt better.  

Then, that summer of 2011, I went skydiving. It was a liberating experience. You should try it. And while I can't say with certainty that skydiving broke my back, it just so happens that within weeks, I started experiencing discomfort in my leg when I would go running. I wasn't as flexible when I did yoga. The discomfort turned into pain so bad that I literally could not sit down. The excruciating pain forced me to see a sports medicine doctor. After medication did not help, she ordered an MRI. The MRI showed two large disc herniations at L5/S1. I needed surgery.

The shock of going from being the healthiest I'd ever been to needing back surgery was... well, shocking. 

They sliced me, diced me and patched me up. 

(No, this is not a paid endorsement)

Amazingly, I went in for surgery in the morning and walked out (slowly) in the afternoon. I recovered well, but it still took time for my incision to heal and for my nerve pain to subside. I was on disability from work for about a month. It was a long, soporific month. 

Since then, I haven't jumped out of a plane again. Nor have I gone snowboarding like I really wanted to. Nor have I tried my hand at surfing. I am very aware that I run the risk of re-herniating my discs if I am not cautious. 

During the first year of recovery, I allowed my fear of re-injury to render me lazy. I felt sorry for myself because I could no longer palm the floor, do push ups or even a single pull up like I was able to before. I felt like I would never reach that level ever again. Then, I snapped out of it. After some soul searching, I discovered that obstacles don't keep you from reaching a goal - they simply allow you to take a different path towards that goal. 

Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got.

Invisible Gym will chronicle my path to reach those proverbial heights we all dream of. Hopefully you'll start your own journey today and not one year and one day from now.